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{
    "localId": "290016609",
    "label": "Memorandum from Attorney General Tom Clark to President Harry S. Truman, with Attachment",
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    "id": "290016609",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Memorandum from Attorney General Tom Clark to President Harry S. Truman, with Attachment",
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    "seq": 2,
    "pageIndex": 0,
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    "ocrText": "Jewish\n1. Plan of Cabinet Committee for the division Palestine into zones\nradically differs from partition proposal of Royal Commission 1937. Royal\nCommission proposal contemplated independent and self-governing states. Cabinet\nCommittee a sort of cantonization - provincial government limited powers - un->\ndemocratic - completely subordinated to central government control, meaning\nBritish High Commissioner control.\n2. Contemplates a narrow zigzagging strip running along three valleys. Reduces\nthe square mile area of the Royal Commission plan, which was already woofully\nsmall, by taking away therefrom most of Galilee even though Jewish population\nhas increased by 50% since that time and even though Jewish immigration needs\nare far more urgent than they ever were in the whole history of the Palestine\nmovement.\n3. The plan is neither a federal Palestine plan nor does it contemplate OF pro-\nvide for self-governing Arab and Jewish provinces - no provision for repre-\nsentation at the center of the constituent parts. Washington Post of August\n2 editorial speaking of the plan \"would introduce to Palestine the regime typical\nof British crown colonies where native chieftains selected by a British Admini-\nstrator and removable by him preside over *district' or 'provinces' which are\nnominally 'self-governing\".\n4. On crucial and all-important questions of insigration, ultimate control thereof,\nnotwithstanding the very tiny area of the Jewish province, remains vested in\nthe British administration - again the historically repudiated criterion of the\n\"economic absorptive capacity\" of the area = employed - the application of this\ncriterion and the final decision is with the British High Commissioner. This\noffers no hope, in the light of past experience, for the implementation of the\nrequest of the President and the recomendation of the Anglo-American Committee\nfor the transfer of the 100,000 displaced persons or any fractional number\nthereof. As If the deficiencies of the plan were not already too flagrant to\nshock the conscience of those interested in achieving some relief for the vic-\ntims of Nazidom, the proposals, objectionable as they are, make the authori-\nzation of the 100,000 certificates dependent on Arab consent.\n\"NATIONAL\nARCHIVES AND\nRECORDS\nSERVICE\"\n5. There is so democratic or autonomous concept involved in a provincial admini-\nstration - they are completely subordinated to the will of the British High\nCommissioner and rigitly restricted as to matters with which they are entitled\nto deal:\na) Provincial cabinets appointed by High Commissioner and responsible\nto him.\nb) Speaker of provincial legislature appointed by and responsible to High\nCommissioner, whose powers are broad, including suppression of free\ndiscussion.\ne) High Commissioner's consent required for all provincial legislation.\n&) Powers of province may be superseded by emergency powers of High Com-\nmissioner\ne) Provincial courts organized by central British authorities - this applies\nto the police force in provincial areas."
}